Individuals worried about identity theft should consider enrolling with a credit monitoring service. These programs will monitor credit reports, and will notify participants when a change or inquiry is made to their report. These services can include locking or unlocking a file, automated notifications, as well as access to credit scores.
In this article, we're going to cover the topic of credit report monitoring. We'll talk about the two main reasons why consumers should consider paying for a service. We'll also compare the offerings from several of the large service providers, as well as the fees associated with these programs.
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Individuals enrolling with a monitoring service will be automatically notified anytime a change is made to their credit history file. Typically, monitoring services will include credit inquiries, opening of new accounts, payment delinquencies, employment changes, change of address, and other modifications to public records. Services are offered as single bureau, or the monitoring of all three national credit-reporting agencies.
Consumers are generally interested in these services for two reasons:
There are currently three companies offering nationwide credit reporting services: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. By law, consumers are able to request one free copy of their credit report from each of these three credit-reporting agencies every twelve months.
By staggering requests for a free credit report, it's possible to monitor activity at four-month intervals. This no-cost option, is arguably the most effective way for individuals that are unwilling, or unable, to pay a service provider to watch for suspicious activity on their reports; free of charge.
Companies offering credit monitoring services generally provide either one-bureau, or three-bureau service. It's also not surprising the same companies compiling these credit history reports are the "big name" companies offering monitoring services. Specifically, TransUnion offers TrueCredit, Equifax offers Complete Advantage, while Experian offers Credit Manager. In the sections below, each offering is compared to those of Identity Theft service providers such as LifeLock, and TrustedID.
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